Embodiments of the present invention relate to approaches for a measurement system and related methods for testing multiple mobile phones in parallel, whereby, depending on the mobile standards used by the mobile phone, multiple parameter values for different parameters of a transmitted signal that is received by the mobile are measured.
United States patent publication no. US 2012/0122406 A1 describes simultaneous downlink testing of multiple mobile phones in a test system. For starting the receiving characteristic of each mobile phone in the downlink test each mobile phone has to be put in a corresponding fixing of the test system. After receiving a common synchronization signal from the test signal generator of the test system the downlink test starts commonly for all the mobile phones fixed in the test system.
Further, a respective batch testing system is known from United States patent publication no. US 2005/0176376 A1.
The test of the transmitter characteristic of each mobile phone in the uplink test has to be performed sequentially. The test of the receiver characteristic of all the mobile phones typically lasts in total approximately one second, whereas the test of the transmitter characteristic of one mobile phone can be performed in a few milliseconds. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 1, a simultaneous downlink test and uplink test can be realized using a full-duplex connector at each fixing of the test system. FIG. 1 shows that at time point tStart1 the downlink test (Rx test) of each mobile phone to be tested in parallel and the uplink test (Tx test) of one mobile phone of these mobile phones are performed, whereas at time point tSTART2 the uplink test (Tx test) of one further mobile phone of these mobile phones is performed. Hereby, as can be seen from FIG. 1 each mobile phone is tested concerning its transmitter characteristic twice for statistical reason.
Both the receiver test and the transmitter comprise a specific number of measuring tasks depending on the mobile standards used by the mobile phones to be tested. In each measuring task mobile standard specific parameter values for technical parameters, such as frequency or signal level of the transmitted RF signal that is received by the mobile phone, type of the baseband signal modulated on the RF signal, duration of the RF signal and so on, are generated/measured. The simultaneous test of the receiver and transmitter characteristic in a corresponding measuring task with corresponding transmitter and receiver specific parameter values is established.
The simultaneous receiver test of multiple mobile phones over a sequence of exemplary N measuring tasks as shown in FIG. 2 is called broadcast mode. In the broadcast mode the common start of the test begins at time point tSTART, if all mobile phones are fixed in the test system and the common end of the test finishes at time point tEND after completion of N measurement tasks. Consequently, the test is disadvantageously interrupted during the period of unfixing the mobile phones of the preceding test and during the period of fixing the next mobile phones for the succeeding test. In FIG. 2 different time points t1, t2, t3 and t4 are indicated, in which each one of the four mobile phones to be tested is fixed in the measurement system. Mobile phone fixed to the measurement system at time point t1 has to wait for the start of the test for the longest time.
Additionally, the number of mobile phones to be tested simultaneously has to be disadvantageously determined before starting the common test. It should be noted that FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 only show the internal state which cannot be considered as prior art.
What is needed, therefore, is an approach for a measurement system and related methods for testing multiple mobile phones in parallel, whereby, depending on the mobile standards used by the mobile phone, multiple parameter values for different parameters of a transmitted signal that is received by the mobile are measured, such that test throughputs are improved and associated costs are reduced.